Chevy rear ends...

[Natty]

1043600

Greetings to all those with Jeeps with working components,

The word through the grapevine is to consider replacing the stock Jeep rear end with a Chevy truck rear end (cut down). Any comments? Is the Chevy stronger, or should I just beef up the Jeep's with aftermarket Lego Brick gears? Would drive shafts, u-joints, and yokes need to be swapped as well? Most importantly, if I do put a Chevy rear end in, should I take partial offense at the Calvin pissing on Chevy stickers?

[addsig]

 

[BobJ]

1043612

depends on what chevy rear end, the corporate 12 bolt would be strong but heavy duty GM rear ends aren't very common.



Most common swaps for a YJ would be a Dana 44 or 60, or Ford 8.8" or 9"[addsig]

 

[MrBill]

1043759

Available corporate rears are the 10 bolt, 12 bolt and 14 bolt (named after the number of bolts holding the ring gear to the carrier).



10 bolt wouldn't be much of an upgrade but a 12 or 14 bolt would. 14 bolt swaps are common when something stronger than a Dana 60 is needed but there are weight and size penalties. If your keeping the tire size under 37s and/or the engine size under small block V8, I'd stick with a Dana 44, Toyota 8"/8.8", or Ford 8.8"/9".



You will probably need a new driveshaft which will compensate for pinion length differences, yolks, etc.



Also, when doing an axle swap on a YJ, it might be a good time to look into going SOA as well...

[addsig]